Harry Potter and the Mystery of Slytherins Tomb
by dirtydexter79
Summary: Muggle A/U: Harry Potter, aged 12, has had to move to the strange town of Hogsmeade when his family is threatened. He meets new friends and truly discovers how mysterious the town really is. Rated M. Very different from the books and is more Sci-fi and Mystery Horror then anything else. Hope you enjoy.
1. A New Beginning

_A/N:I came up with this idea and thought it was really good. I know I'm not the best writer but i do hope you can enjoy the story side of things. its not about magic (kinda) but is more along the line of Sci-Fi like stranger things and stuff like this. Its a mystery and that's why it's great in my opinion._

* * *

**NOVEMBER, 1ST. 1981.**

"In Breaking news," The newsreader said, sitting at her desk on the Tv. a picture of a handsome man with black hair and eyes appeared on screen "Cult leader Tom Riddle has been apprehended by Police. Riddle, better known by his self-titled name 'Lord Voldemort', was the leader of the cult 'The Death-Eaters'. who believed and prayed to 'aliens'"

The newsreader looked like she wanted to laugh but her face was schooled like a professional

"Riddle was most notably known for being responsible for the murders of famed Footballer Ludo Bagman and Businessman Orion Black, along with Mr. Black's wife and youngest son, Regulus. These, and many more were used in many rituals. sacrificing them to 'alien gods'".

"Riddle was arrested by Uniformed Police officers, James Potter and, Mr. Blacks own estranged son, Sirius Black. They chased Riddle down after a gathering of his followers was raided by authorities, before handing Riddle over to their superior, Captain Rufus Scrimgeour. Riddle is now being questioned by..."

The screen abruptly cut from the living color to pitch black. A man with a bone-white hair and beard turned in his chair to face the rest of the occupants of the room, all sitting along the table he headed.

"It is good Riddle has been apprehended" Albus Dumbledore, the current head of MI6, or the government in general, said. "We don't want people finding out our... secret"

"Right you are, Albus" Alastor Moody, A man with scars upon scars and a black eyepatch said.

"Well, Riddle can be taken... rather easily now, can't he," Albus said, stroking his beard, already thinking of sending Elphias and Hestia to get Riddle from the holding cell he was now held in at London Police Headquarters.

"Yes we can" Barty Crouch Sr. said, smoothly. "Would you like me to take care of it"

"Of course, Barty" Albus smiled, a twinkle in his eyes. "But how are you dealing with the revelations about your son" It was now common knowledge that Barty Crouch Jr. had been a follower of Riddle and had been arrested during the raid.

"Fine, Albus, fine" Barty didn't look pleased, a thin line replaced his mouth.

"Stop teasing the boy, Al" Gellert Grindlewald grinned. Albus glanced at his long-time lover. Their relationship was yet another secret he had to keep.

"I will, Gellert" Albus smiled. "How is your... project going?"

"What?, you mean Project Hallows?," Gellert said "It's going well. our guest is rather comfortable. Hogsmeade is a great town"

"Lovely weather out there this time of year" Albus nodded. "Very good"

"The greater good" Gellert nodded back.

"And what of the Prime Minister?" Barty asked.

"A few white lies will convince, Thatcher" Gellert waved off the man's concerns. Barty scowled.

"He is right, Barty," Albus said, calmly. "Margaret mustn't know the type of things we want 'Lord Voldemort' for"

Barty said nothing.

"Yeah," Alastor chuckled gruffly "The Iron bloody women can't know that Aliens and the Super-Fucking-Natural exist"

The room laughed. They all understood what Alastor had said.

* * *

**AUGUST, 1ST. 1992.**

Harry Potter, 12 years old, sat in the middle of what would be his old living room. The moving boxes were around him like a sea, The Tv had been switched off about half an hour ago.

"Harry" his mother, Lily, said as she arrived in the room. "Are you okay, dear?" she came over and sat down next to her son on the sofa, putting an arm around him.

"I guess" Harry shrugged "Just sad we have to leave"

"I know, my darling" Lily soothed "I don't want too either, but it's for our own safety"

"Why are we in danger again, mum?" Harry asked.

"I can't tell you, dear," Lily said, rubbing his back. "You know I can't"

"Yeah," Harry sighed.

"Cheer up" Lily smiled "You had fun with Neville didn't you?"

"Yeah," Harry brightened up "It was nice of Aunt Alice to let Nev stay for the week"

"Yes it was," Lily said "I hope you thanked her"

"I did, mum" Harry smiled, Lily smiled back, proud of her polite little boy.

"Aunt Alice also says you can write or call Neville any time you like"

"I know," Harry said "I'm still sad"

"I know, Baby," Lily said, hugging Harry tighter "let's get these boxes in the car"

Lily and Harry spent the next half an hour moving to and from their little cottage in the town of Godric's Hollow, London, picking up boxes and putting them inside their car. it wasn't until lunchtime that Harry's dad, James returned from work.

"Hiya, Kid," James said, ruffling his son's hair "Hello, Dear" He kissed Lily, causing Harry to screw up his face in disgust. Lily laughed once they had pulled away.

"Don't look like that Harry" James chuckled "You be exactly like us when you're married"

Harry blushed, he was probably one of the only teenage boys to ever think about getting married.

"Well, let me get dressed and then we can go" James smiled sadly, looking around the cottage he had called home since birth. He went upstairs after that and a few minutes later, all three Potters were in their car, Lily had refused to let James drive, and on their way to their new home.

"What's the name of the town we're moving too, dad?" Harry asked.

"Hogsmeade, Son" James answered "It's in devon, not too far"

Harry sat in silence for a lot of the journey but brightened up when his dad put his favorite singer, Adam Ant, on the stereo and with no time at all they arrived in the town of Hogsmeade. It was currently August, so the weather was rather sunny, the houses looked normal, very aged and Harry couldn't pinpoint which time period they had been built-in.

His parents were looking at a map, trying to figure out where their new house was.

"Why don't we asked those two boys there," Lily said, pointing to a pair of redheaded Twins seating on a bench outside the local church.

"Sure," James said and Lily drove over to them.

"Excess me, boys" Lily smiled at them, the twins stood up and moved closer to the car "Do you know were Gryffindor Lane is?"

"Do we?" one said to the other.

"Of course" The other grinned

"Just go down there," The first said.

"and take a right," The other said.

"Thank you boys" Lily smiled, they grinned back and walked off, laughing.

"That was strange," James said as they drove the way the twins had said. "Cool, but strange"

"What was?" Lily said, absently

"Those two twins," James said "They were... Twin speaking. It was cool. I wonder if Sirius and I could do it"

"Whatever you say, dear"

Harry giggled at his father, who pouting at the disinterest of his wife.

They finally arrived at a rather lovely looking cottage, it was two stories high and covered in ivy. They got out of the car and looked at their new house.

"Well, isn't this lovely" Lily beamed "It looks much nicer then the pictures"

"Yeah," James said, "Don't you think, Harry?"

"Yeah," Harry said, quietly "It's nice"

"Well then," James said, rubbing his hands together "Let's move in!"

The Potters got all the boxes out of the car and into the new sitting room. It was red in color and was decorated with two red sofas, an armchair with a fireplace and Tv set.

"We'll do your room later, Cub," James said "Why don't you unpack the photos for your mother"

"Alright, Dad," Harry said and pulled the box of family photos towards him as he fell back onto one of the red sofas. He opened the box and started pulling photos out.

There was one of him as a baby and toddler. One of his parent's wedding day. a group photo of Harry himself, Neville Longbottom, his best friend, Hannah Abbott, His other best friend and Neville's secret crush and his cousin, although she was more like a sister, Hermione Granger.

Harry felt a pang in his heart that he had left his friends behind. he turned the picture over, hurting too much to look at his best friends smiling faces. He went through several more photos before he found a picture that had always interested him.

It showed his mother, a young teenager about 17, with a boy with long, greasy black hair, laughing. Harry only knew that the man's name was Severus Snape, his mother's best friend and had disappeared before he was born.

The Potters didn't talk about him much. His mum always got upset when Severus was mentioned.

Harry placed the photos, with their stands, on the mantelpiece in a way he knew his mother would approve. Harry stared at the laughing form of Severus Snape for a long time before his mother's voice carried from the kitchen.

"Harry, dear" She called "Your father has your things in your room, let's go unpack them"

"Alright, mum" Harry called back, leaving the sitting room and mysterious pictures behind to go upstairs.

His new room was about the same size as his old one was but was cream-colored inside of the green he was used too. It had a bed, a wardrobe, and a desk.

"Okay then," Lily said "let's start with this box"

They spent a long time getting his room together but in the end, it looked more homely then it had at the beginning, so Harry felt marginally better. Harry spent the rest of the day in his room, listening to his favorite rock music on the walkman his dad had brought him for his 11th birthday the year before, whilst his parents unpacked the rest of their belongings.

He must have fallen asleep because he was woken up by his dad's voice.

"Harry," James said through his door, knocking slightly "Your mum has dinner ready"

"'Kay, Da'," Harry yawned. he got up and opened his door to reveal his dad grinning at him.

"Having a nap, old chap"

"No," Harry said, stifling a yawn, trying to look grumpy "But you need one soon, _Old man_"

James put his hand to his chest, near his heart. "You wound me, son"

Harry just laughed and rushed down the stairs and into the kitchen, shouting behind him: "Catch up slow poke"

"Why, you little..."

Harry just sat down at the dinner table in the kitchen of his new house. it was rather small but had a nice feeling about it.

"Mommy," Harry said sweetly. "Daddy interrupted my nap"

"Did he, dear?" Lily said, stroking Harry's hair whilst giving James a tiny glare. She turned away to serve up dinner.

James leaned over to Harry "Little, snake" He grinned.

Harry put on a face of pure innocence and sweetly smiled "What do you mean?"

James shook his head fondly before ruffling his son's hair.

Dinner that night was steak and kidney pie, one of Harry's favorites. They had just finished when the doorbell rang. Lily stood up, and because the front door was located in the kitchen strolled over and opened it to reveal a man at least seven foot.

He was large with a big, bushy black beard. His large frame scared Harry but the giant's personality was very different.

"'Ello," He said, a kind smile on his face and his west country accent thick. "Names' Rubeus Hagrid. I live next door to ya'. Thought I'd pop over and say welcome to the town"

"Oh," Lily said, surprised at the literal BFG at her doorstep "That's very nice of you, Mr. Hagrid..."

"Just Hagrid's fine," Hagrid said with a toothless smile "Me late father was Mr. Hagrid and I'll tell ya' he suits it more then I did"

"Well, Hagrid, it's nice to meet you," Lily said, stepping aside to let the large man in "I'm Lily and this is my husband James and son Harry"

"'Ello," Hagrid smiled, he was a kind man "Harry, Ah. You look school age, you going to the local one?"

"Yeah," Harry said faintly.

"Good choice," Hagrid said, either not noticing or ignoring Harry's frightened expression. He chuckled "Not like you have much of a choice. I'm the groundskeeper at Hogwarts"

"Really," James said "Must be an interesting job"

"Very," Hagrid said proudly, he then seemed to notice the dinner plates "Sorry, didn't mean to interrupt ya' dinner"

"Don't worry about it" Lily waved off his concerns "We had just finished" Hagrid nodded and then seemed to remember something, out of nowhere he pulled a cake box that was slightly squashed

"Sorry about that" Hagrid said, looking at the squashed box, "Thought I would make a home warming present"

"That's lovely of you, Hagrid" James smiled, taking the cake box from the giant's hands. he opened it and peered inside, revealing a chocolate cake with the word _Welcom _on it in green icing.

"Ran out of room for the E, unfortunately," Hagrid said, pulling a face that made Harry want to giggle.

"That's, alright" James grinned, looking hungry.

"Well, I better go, got a busy day ahead of me" Hagrid waved as he went to the door "Welcome to town again, hope you enjoy our little community"

"It's been lovely meeting you, Hagrid" Lily smiled and walked him to the door, saying her goodbyes, Harry and James did likewise. Hagrid said goodbye before leaving, Lily closing the door behind him.

"Well, he seemed nice," James said.

"He did" Lily let out a breath "He was also massive"

"He's just tall Lil's," James said, cutting the cake.

The cake was fairly nice but it was evident that Hagrid wouldn't be winning any cooking competitions any time soon. The main cake was dry but that was made up for by the very moist icing, it was homemade and it was great. Harry enjoyed it immensely.

"Well, that was filling," James said, patting his stomach after his third slice of cake.

"It was nice," Harry said. they moved from the kitchen and into the living room where they watched Tv for the rest of the evening, Harry curled up, snuggled into his mother's side.

"Well, I think its time for bed, young man," Lily said to Harry, who's eyes were drooping by the second. Harry nodded sleepily and stood up, yawning. He and his mum went upstairs and he got dressed and into bed.

"Night, dear," Lily said, coming into his room. She kissed him on the forehead and tucked him in more. "Sweet dreams, my precious boy"

"G'night, Ma'" Harry mumbled, falling asleep instantly. He had pleasant dreams of making cakes with Hagrid and playing Cops 'n' Robbers with his dad.

* * *

**AUGUST, 2ND. 1992.**

Harry stared up at the ceiling of his new room. He had been awake for at least an hour, pondering of what the day would bring. despite being sad about leaving his home, he was generally curious about the town of Hogsmeade.

His mother called for breakfast shortly after and he got dressed before walking down stairs to find a plate of sausages and beans.

"Morning," Harry said, giving his mother a kiss on the cheek before sitting down and digging into his breakfast. "What are we doing today?" He asked before scooping a fork load of beans into his mouth.

"Well, me and you are going for a little explore around the town whilst your father takes the car and goes to the police station," Lily told him.

"Okay, mum" Harry nodded, smiling. he had always looked up to his dad for being a police man and wanted to be own once he grew up.

"Uncle Sirius called after you had gone to bed, Harry" James said. "Says he's going to come down and see us as soon as possible"

"Really?" He was very close with his godfather, Sirius Black.

"Yes," His dad confirmed "He says he wants to move down here as well, be close to the family"

"Wow," Harry said "That's awesome!"

"Yeah it is, Pup" James grinned, already excited to see his best friend again.

The three finished their breakfast quickly before James departed. Harry rushed to get dressed, excited to go into town.

He met Lily at the door. "Ready to go, Harry?" She asked,

"Yeah," Harry nodded eagerly. they walked up the street they had driven down the day before, passing similar houses too their own before come face to face with the church, which was very gothic in design.

"St. Godric's" Harry read the sign, indicating the church, aloud. "Think it's connected to Godric's Hollow, mum?"

"I think it is, dear" Lily nodded "Godric's Hollow is named after a man called Godric Gryffindor"

Harry gasped in realization "We live on Gryffindor lane"

Lily nodded again "I know, quite the mystery"

They walked further after this and came across a small general store called 'Honeydukes' and small walk away from a very nice looking pub called 'The Three Broomsticks", the sign had a picture of three broomsticks in a flying motion.

"The Three Broomsticks?!" Harry said "What kind of name is that?"

"I read about this town" Lily said "It has a lot of folklore about magic and witches in its history, that's probably why. It does look like a nice place though, we should come here soon"

Harry nodded, agreeing. They walked passed rows and rows of houses, all looking the same but unique at the same time until they reaches the main street. it was a long road with different shops on either side, He and his mum look around for a bit, it wasn't that busy so they could move around freely.

Both Harry and Lily eyed a small tea shop called 'Madam Puddifoots' with disdain. Harry looked at a bookshop named 'Flourish and Blotts" with interest but decided to look around later. Lily pointed out a school stationary shop called 'Ollivanders' as they passed it and did similarly when they passed a uniform shop called 'Madam Malkin's'.

"Oh, look they have a train station" Lily said, happily pointing to the sign that 'station' on it. "That will make it easier for your Uncle Remus when he visits"

Harry nodded, thinking of his Uncle and him being not that financially sound. He was a maths tutor but he couldn't find work easily because of the large scars he had on his face that he had suffered from a dog attack when he was a child. Harry noted in excitement the local cinema, which was called 'Weasley's Moving Pictures!'.

After exploring the main town and having a look at the town centre, also finding out the towns mayor's name was Amelia Bones in the process, they walked home but stopped at the local park.

The first thing Harry saw when entering the playground were the two redheaded twins from the day before. they were on the seesaw and laughing their heads off.

"Why don't you go off and play, Harry, I'm going to ask that lady some questions about the town" His mother pointed to a rather plump, redheaded women sitting on a bench, knitting. Harry summarised that she was the twins mother.

As Lily walked over to the bench, Harry walked over to the climbing frame. Until he got close enough, Harry hadn't realised the two people there. One was a tall, gangly boy with red hair whilst the other was a very pretty girl with long, firey red hair. They looked like siblings but also related to the twins and plump women.

The two kids looked at him and smiled. "Hello," The girl said, smiling kindly. Harry felt his stomach go into a knot, he had always been very nervous around girls he wasn't related too, it had taken at least a few months until he even remotely comfortable around Hannah.

"H-Hi," Harry stammered "I'm Harry Potter" He blurted out.

"I'm Ginny Weasley" The girl said, kindness radiated from her but then she nudged her brother rather hard.

"I'm Ron Weasley" The boy yelped, sticking out his hand. Harry shook it.

"I just moved here," Harry said, nervously.

"Really,?" Ginny said, "Where from?"

"Godric's Hollow" Harry answered, he felt at ease with this girl "It's close to London"

"Wow," Ron said, impressed "That's cool"

Harry shrugged, trying to act that way "It's aright"

"Do you want to play with us?" Ginny asked, smiling.

"Yes, please," Harry said, "Do you go to the school?"

"What, Hogwarts?" Ron asked, as Ginny started to climb on the climbing frame. Harry nodded "It's alright, I guess. I'm a year 8 this year"

"I am as well" Harry said "Or I will be when I start"

"I'm starting fully this year" Ginny said from atop the frame "Ickle Year 7 and all"

"Don't worry, Gin" Ron grinned "I won't forget you"

"You better not" Ginny said, sending Ron a dangerous look. Both boys gulped and quickly started climbing.

Harry had a great time playing with Ron and Ginny. Ron was funny, making goofy jokes to make him and Ginny laugh whilst Ginny was very playful, inventing games and dares for them to play, Harry was enjoying their company immensely. The siblings teased each other a lot, making playful banter that some times included Harry.

"It must be cool to have brothers" Harry told them as they sat panting on a bench, they had just played tag.

"It's great" Ginny nodded "We've got five"

"Five!" Harry said, shocked "I wish I had five brothers"

"Their all pretty awesome" Ron said "apart from Percy, a bit too stuck up in my opinion"

"He's just smart and follows the rules, Ronald" Ginny said, rolling her eyes, making Harry chuckle.

"Well I still think he's stuck up, Ginevra" Ron retorted.

"Ginevra?!" Harry said, confused. he had never heard such a name. He had thought Ginny was short for Virginia.

"It's Italian" Ginny scowled at the name.

"Its a very nice name" Harry said.

Ginny's face softened a bit and a pink blush came across her cheeks "Thank you, Harry. but I don't like it, so don't call me it"

Her tone suggested that their would be hell to pay if he did, so Harry nodded. "So tell me about your brothers"

Harry wanted to change the subject.

"Well, Bill's the oldest, he went to University and works at a big fancy bank now" Ron said. "Called Gringotts or something"

Ginny nodded "Then there's Charlie, he works at a big cat sanctuary in Kent. he loves animals"

"That's cool" Harry said.

"Then there's Percy. He's in his first year of Sixth form now, so your meet him at school"

"And the Twins are Fred and George, their in year 10" Ginny said.

"I met them yesterday," Harry said. "They gave my mum directions too our new house"

"Were do you live?" Ginny asked.

"Gryffindor Lane," Harry said.

"That's nice," Ron said "We live on the outskirts of town, on a farm called 'The Burrow'"

"Is your dad a farmer?" Harry asked.

"No, its not really a farm anymore, only have chickens and a cow" Ginny told him "Dad runs the local cinema"

"Wow, that's cool" Harry said, remembering the cinema he saw in town and connected the dots "Weasley's Moving Pictures"

"That's it," Ron said, he then grinned "We always get free tickets"

"Lucky" Harry smiled, very impressed with the Weasley family. He was about to asked them what their mother did when he heard his name being called. He turned to see his mother waving at him, Harry guessed it was time to leave.

"I've got to go" Harry said, sadly "I guess I'll see you at school"

"Yeah," Ron said, Harry was pleased to see they both didn't want him to go. "Hey, Ginny. Harry can come to your birthday party!"

"Oh, yeah" Ginny squealed. "You can come to my party"

"Really?" Harry smiled, hope in his chest.

"Yeah, mum will be fine with it," Ginny said, smiling "Let's go ask"

The trio ran over to Mrs. Weasley and Lily.

"Mum, Mum!" Ginny said as she came to a stop "Can Harry come to my party next week?"

"Of course, dear" Mrs. Weasley said, smiling at Harry. "If that's okay with Mrs. Potter, here"

"As long as Harry wants to go, its fine with me"

Harry, Ginny and Ron whispered excitedly as Mrs. Weasley gave Lily directions to the Burrow.

Harry spent the journey home, describing the games they had played as Lily smiled fondly at her son.

"I'm glad you've made friends already, Harry" Lily told him as she opened the door to their house.

"Yeah," Harry said, feeling happy "Their great"

_They really are my friends_ Harry thought as he fell asleep later that evening. Perhaps moving to Hogsmeade wasn't that bad at all he thought as a beautiful snowy owl hooted in the moon light. He dreamed of himself having adventures with pretty Ginny and goofy Ron.

If only Harry knew what was to come.

* * *

_Hope you enjoyed. _


	2. Party!

**AUGUST, 1992.**

Harry didn't see the Weasleys until a few days later. But they were on his mind constantly, whatever happened around him, he barely noticed it. When his dad was telling him about his new boss, Harry was thinking of Ginny's playful character. and when his mother was telling him about a call she got from his Aunt Jean, he was thinking about Ron's jokes, they were funny after all.

Harry just wanted to see them again.

He got his wish around five days after meeting Ron and Ginny. He and his mum had gone to the local general store 'Honeydukes' to stock up their kitchen. Harry was looking at the chocolates when he heard a familiar voice: "Ginny let's get a mars bar for dad"

Harry followed the voices until he turned the corner and saw his best friends.

"Ron, Ginny," Harry said as he got close.

Ginny, who had had her back turned to him, squealed "Harry!" and threw her arms around him, hugging him tightly. when she pulled back both she and Harry had slightly pink cheeks.

"Hi, Harry" Ron smirked at the pair.

"How are you doing?" Harry asked.

"Alright," Ron said, shrugging "Just hanging around the farm"

"We fed the cow yesterday" Ginny beamed.

"Really?. that sounds cool," Harry said, he had never been on a farm before but found them very interesting.

"We'll have to show you when you come round for the party," Ron said.

"Yes, please," Harry said excitedly.

"Mum needed to come and get supplies" Ginny informed him. "We're just here. mum has a lot of shopping to do, so let's go see if we can escape some were"

"Okay," Harry said, laughing at Ginny's excitement. Ron did likewise. The trio walked to the front of the shop were Lily and Mrs. Weasley were chatting at the counter.

"Mum, can me, Harry and Ron go off," Ginny asked, sweetly.

"Of course, dear," Mrs. Weasley said, kindly "Just meet me at the cinema later"

"Okay, mum" Ron and Ginny said together.

"Can I go too, mum?" Harry asked Lily.

"Yes, Harry. meet me outside the cinema as well, if you like"

"Thanks, mum," Harry said, giving his mum a hug before following Ron and Ginny out of the shop. As they walked into town they passed the church. This reminded Harry of something.

"Do you guys know who Godric Gryffindor is?" He asked.

"Yeah," Ron said, "Why do you want to know?"

"Well, I was raised in a village called Godric's Hollow, it was named after Gryffindor"

"Really?!," Ginny said, shocked "That's strange. I suppose that's where he was born, he wasn't from here original. What a consequence "

"Yeah, that's what my mum says" Harry replied. "Who is he?"

"Oh, yeah, Godric Gryffindor was the town's first mayor and this big war hero back in the middle ages," Ron told him.

"He's pretty famous around these parts," Ginny said "Aberforth, The Hogshead landlord says he's related to him. but Ab's a bit of a gruff, so it might be a lie"

"The Hogshead?" Harry asked, confused. he thought the only pub in town was The Three Broomsticks.

"It's the town's first-ever pub, a bit run down now but people go there for the nostalgia," Ron said.

_A mystery solved _Harry thought as he and the other two reached the town. they explored the main street for a bit, finally taking a rest on a bench on the other side of the street to the cinema.

"Well, well, well. what do we have here?" a voice drawled behind them. Harry turned to see his father in full police uniform. Ron yelped and stood up straight. "How are we, Gentlemen. and Lady" He winked at Ginny, who giggled.

"I didn't do nothing, officer," Ron said, shaking his head quickly "I haven't called Dawlish a Rozzer again"

James grinned "I'm not here to arrest you, lad. I'm here to see my son and his new friends"

"Hi, Dad," Harry said, giving James a quick hug.

"Your dad's a cop!" Ron said, awed. "That's awesome"

"Why yes it is,...?"

"Oh, Ron Weasley" Ginny answered "And I'm Ginny Weasley. Ron's sister"

"A pleasure to meet you," James said, shaking both their hands "And, as a Sergeant of the Met. Police, I give you full permission to call Dawlish a Rozzer"

The kids burst out laughing at that. James chuckled along with them

"Harry," James said, wiping his eyes "Your Uncle Sirius called. He's found an apartment to rent, above the cinema no less"

"That's great, dad," Harry said, excited to see his godfather.

"Above the Cinema, you say" Ginny joked "Tell him thanks, he'll be paying for our meals for awhile"

Ron nudged Ginny, his face slightly red "Ginny!" he hissed "What she means is, our dad owns and runs the cinema, so he'll be renting off our family"

"I thought your surname sounded familiar," James said as if he had solved a great mystery. " Well, I am on duty, so I must go. See you son"

James gave Harry another hug before walking down the street, waving to the trio.

They started walking towards the aforementioned cinema. Ron and Ginny were whispering heatedly about Ginny's joke.

"Am I missing something?" Harry asked, confused. The siblings turned around fast, Ron looked scared whilst Ginny just shrugged.

"It's nothing really," Ron glared at his sister "We're just not that well off"

"Ginny!" Ron hissed.

"Oh, okay," Harry said.

"You don't care?" Ron asked, surprised.

"Of course, not," Harry said "Money isn't everything"

"Thank you, Harry," Ginny said, giving him a quick hug. Her eyes were alight with happiness, Harry hadn't noticed before how chocolate-colored her eyes were. "Ronald is just a bit touchy about it".

Ron glared at Ginny all the way to the cinema.

"Did you enjoy your little adventure?" Mrs. Weasley said as they arrived in front of the cinema. it was a brick building and looked like a movie theatre from the 1950s, it was very cool looking in Harry's opinion.

"Yeah, mum" Ron said "We met Mr. Potter"

"Mum, Uncle Sirius is going to live above the cinema," Harry told Lily, excitedly.

"I know, dear" Lily smiled "That's great"

"Well, I'm going to show Mrs. Potter here where the hospital is," Mrs. Weasley told the group "So why don't you see a film with Harry"

Harry, Ginny, and Ron looked at each other, excitedly. They quickly agreed and once Lily and Mrs. Weasley left, they went inside.

The inside was purple with a red carpet and a ticket booth in the middle with a snack bar on the side.

"Hi, Perce," Ron said when they walked up to the booth. the boy inside was wearing a cinema uniform that consisted of a purple and red t-shirt. He had thick, horned rimmed glasses and had the same red hair as Ron and Ginny.

"Hello, you two" The boy, no older than 16, said in a pompous voice, looking up from the book he was reading. "Who's your friend?"

"Oh, this is Harry" Ron indicated him "Harry this is our brother, Percy"

"Hello," Harry said, Percy nodded.

"Harry's just moved here, Perce"

"Your Sergeant Potter's son, then," Percy said, reaching his hand out for a handshake. Harry shook and felt like he was in a business meeting. "So, what film do you want to see?"

"Three tickets for _Cool World _please," Ginny said.

"Go on then" Percy gave them their tickets and they started to walk over to the snack bar. "And sit in the right seats this time. Ginevra, Ronald!"

Ginny scowled at the use of her full name. behind the snack bar stood a middle-aged man with thinning red hair and glasses, he looking at a puzzle box with interest.

"Hi dad/Hello, Daddy," Ron and Ginny said at the same time.

"Hello, kids," Mr. Weasley said, smiling kindly "Ah, you must be the infamous Harry Potter my children have been raving about for the past few days"

Harry blushed, extremely pleased Ron and Ginny had been talking about him as much as he had been with them. Mr. Weasley stuck his hand out and shook Harry's, ignoring the blush.

"What would you like?" He asked.

"Popcorn, please, Daddy," Ginny asked, smiling radiantly. She was obviously close with her father.

Mr. Weasley gave them a rather healthy portion of popcorn each and they made their way into the screen room. it looked like any other movie screen but was practically empty apart from a young couple in the back.

"Where do you want to sit?" Ron asked Harry. Harry shrugged, so Ginny led the way to the middle row, in the middle seats.

"Why is it so empty?" Harry whispered to Ginny, who he was sitting next to. Ron was on the other side of her.

Ginny actually growled "There's a new, fancy pants cinema not that far from town, part of a big shopping center or some crap like that. only true locals come here anymore" She added, sighing sadly.

"Oh," Harry wished he hadn't asked "Well, I assure you my family will only come here"

"Thanks, Harry" Ginny beamed at him and gave him a kiss on the cheek. Harry went red but the trailers started. The film _Cool World_ was an alright film but wasn't going to win any awards. Harry enjoyed it but found the cartoon character of Holli Would very uncomfortable, Ron, on the other hand, was wide-eyed and grinning like a goofy idiot.

Halfway through the film, the couple in the back left. The boy was tall and handsome with dark hair whilst the girl was a pretty Asian with shiny black hair. Harry was surprised when Ginny glared at the retreating form of the girl.

"Who was that?" Harry asked Ginny, Ron was still watching Holli Would in interest.

"Cho Chang," Ginny spat "She's horrible. Mean to anyone who doesn't meet her standards. I hate her"

She gave Harry a look that clearly said 'Agree with me or I'll rip your head off'.

"Sounds like a horrible person" Harry nodded, he was terrified of Ginny like this. Although he held _a lot_ of respect for her. Harry was so scared of her, he forgets to ask who the boyfriend was.

The film finished shortly after and the three retreated back into the lobby. Mr. Weasley waved at them as they left whilst Percy gave a nod of goodbye.

They found their respective mothers outside, chatting.

"How was the film?" Lily asked.

"Good" The kids chorused.

"Ready to go?" Lily asked her son. Harry nodded and said goodbye to the Weasleys with Ron clapping him on the back and Ginny giving him a warm hug.

Harry and Lily walked home, both feeling very happy after a very happy day.

* * *

**AUGUST, 11TH. 1992.**

It had rained the next few days, so Harry was unable to go into town to try and see if he could find Ginny and Ron. He and his mum had mainly stayed at home, only going out to buy Ginny's birthday present ready for her party. Harry had chosen it, He had also made sure it had no pink on it. it was a fantasy book called _The Hobbit_, one of Harry's favorites and he was pretty sure Ginny would like it since she was a big fan of fantasy films.

The day of August, 11th came very fast and Harry, wearing a very nice bottle green shirt his mother had picked out for him, was practically bouncing on his toes waiting for his parents to get dressed and take him to the Burrow.

after what seemed like forever, James and Lily came down the stairs in their smart attire. Harry ran outside and in a flash was buckled up in the back of the family car. Lily laughed at her son's excitement and quickly got in the car with her husband and driving to the party.

It took at least 20 minutes to get to the Burrow, Lily saw a cluster of green and yellow balloons hastily tied to a fence post, so she turned down the sandy road, passing a wooden sign with the words 'The Burrow' painted in black on it.

"You, know," James said as they drove down the slightly bumpy road "If we got you a bike, you could cycle down here. if you like?"

Harry nodded, liking the idea of being able to see his friends easier. The first thing he saw when they arrived at the farm was the large, wooden barn that sat at the far end of the dusty courtyard. it looked both abandoned but steady at the same time.

To the right of the courtyard was a pond, full of clear water with a decking. To the left was the Burrow itself. it was a large, two-story building made of the most weathered bricks Harry had ever seen. the roof had one single window jutting out of it and the tiles looked like they had been replaced many times.

The windows to the main house were white, the paint chipped and the main door was blue with red accents, a single horseshoe hung above the door. A ramshackle canopy made of one sheet of wood stood over a collection of bikes, in all different sizes, shapes, and colors.

To Harry, it was the most amazing home he had ever seen.

Harry, James, and Lily got out of the car and trundled to the door, it was a very windy day and apart from their car, there was an old, blue Ford Anglia and a yellow VW camper van covered in a flower mural parked in the courtyard. Lily knocked a few times and didn't take long for Mr. Weasley to open the door.

"James!, Lily!, Harry, lad!," Mr. Weasley said, brightly "How are you?"

"Doing good, Arthur" James said, smiling "May we...?"

"Of course, course" Arthur moved out of the way for them to go inside and once they had Harry was assaulted by warmth and the smell of cooking. The kitchen was a square-shaped room and very rustic. The counters, which lined every wall that didn't have a doorway or radiator on it, were mismatched and covered in various foods and kitchenware. a large, long oak table stood proudly in the middle whilst Mrs. Weasley bustled round.

"Oh, hello dearies," she said upon noticing them. she was wearing an apron "How are you?. Harry, The others are in the living room"

"We're doing fine, Molly," Lily said. Harry just stood there, not knowing where the living room was. Mr. Weasley took pity on him and pointed to an archway that led into an incredibly small hallway that housed the stairs and led into another room.

Harry smiled his thanks and went into the living room. Like the kitchen, it was very rustic with red, patterned wallpaper and bundle of mismatched, possibly homemade, carpets and rugs. It had a fireplace on the far wall and a Tv, which looked like the most expensive thing in the whole house, in the corner, a cartoon was playing, it looked like Scooby-Doo.

Ron was sprawled out on a long, pale green sofa that was covered in multicolored pillows and blankets. Ginny was curled up on a blood-red armchair covered in a magenta and emerald blanket. A girl with long dirty blonde hair and porcelain skin sat on the other sofa that circled the Tv set, it was brown in color and made of leather, a few pillows were also scattered on it.

"Harry!" Ginny squealed when she saw him, she jumped up, letting the blanket fall to the floor revealing her yellow sundress and a big, plastic badge that had the words _BIRTHDAY GIRL_ on it. She threw her arms around Harry and hugged him tightly.

Harry returned the gesture, blushing at having a girl in his arms.

"Happy birthday, Gin" Harry smiled, he couldn't help it.

"Thanks, Harry" Ginny said before rushing over to the blonde girl and leading her over to him. "Harry, this is my best friend Luna Lovegood" Luna, who had big, wide blue eyes, blinked "Luna, this is Ron and I's new friend Harry Potter"

"Hello, Harry Potter," Luna said "Your blushing, I assume you liked having Ginny hug you.

"Er, yeah," Harry said, feeling overwhelmed "Hi, Luna"

"Hello. again" Luna smiled. Ron was silently laughing in the background.

"Hi, Ron," Harry said.

"Hi, mate"

"Oh yes, Ronnie's here" Luna smiled radiantly before going over to Ron and hugging his middle, snuggling into him. Ron's face screwed up a long-suffering expression.

Ginny giggled and whispered in Harry's ear, her breath was hot "She has a crush on him"

Harry laughed and brought the scowling face of Ron looking his way. Harry just grinned and sat down on the large green sofa whilst Ginny sat in the armchair again.

Luna led Ron onto the leather sofa. He sat ridged as Luna curled up in his side, a sigh of contempt escaping her lips. Ron's lips turned completely straight. Harry had trouble not laughing.

Ginny, in an attempt to distract Harry from Ron no doubt, showed him the presents her family and Luna had given her. Her parents had given her an art pad, for she liked drawing whilst Ron had given her a bunch of sweets, the Twins, Fred and George, had given her a joke book about farts and Percy had given her a stationary set she would use at school

Her other brothers, Bill and Charlie, hadn't given her their presents yet since they were bringing them when they got to the Burrow, which they hadn't yet.

Luna had given her a rather large book on the world's most interesting conspiracy theories. Harry found this odd and wondered why Luna had gotten her a present like this. so he asked.

"Well, there not really theories are they, there all true one way or another" Luna told him like it was obvious. Ginny nodded wisely "My Daddy writes a magazine called _The Quibbler. _to tell people the truth about what's going on"

"And what's going on?" Harry asked, interested.

"Everything" Luna answered.

"Let's take Harry on a tour of the house" Ron suggested. Harry readily agreed and followed, along with Luna, the Weasley siblings up the stairs and onto the landing of the second floor. On each of the far end of the hallway were a door and two more on the right side.

"That's Bill and Charlie's old room" Ginny pointed to the far right door. "And that's the Twins" Pointing to one of the right side doors before pointing to the other one "And that's Percy's"

Ginny walked over to the far left door and opened it. "This is my room" The room was painted a faded pink and was covered in posters of all sorts of rock bands. it had a desk, chair, wardrobe, and a comfy looking bed. A poster of a dark-skinned woman in sportswear caught Harry's eye.

"That's Gwenog Jones," Ginny said "She's like my idol, she's an Olympic level runner"

"Cool," Harry said.

"Alright, out you go," Ginny said, gently pushing Harry out of her room "No boys, aloud"

Harry nodded and realized he hadn't seen anywhere were Ron's bedroom could be.

"Up to my room now" Ron grinned and picked up a wooden stick with a hook on the end and reached up with it to hook a small hoop on what looked like a loft entrance. He pulled it down to reveal a ladder, Ron climbed up it and then Harry, Ginny and Luna followed.

_Ron lives in the attic _Harry thought this was very cool. There was just enough room for Ron, who was very tall, to stand. The wall, which was mainly just the underneath of the roof, was painted orange and his bed was simply a mattress on the floor with a few planks of wood lining it.

The 'walls' were covered in movie posters, no doubt given to him by his father. There were all three _Star Wars _films, _Jaws_, and _Batman. _It came as no surprise to Harry, he had always known Ron was a film nerd.

"You live in the attic!" Harry echoed his thought from earlier. "That's so cool"

Ron grinned "Yeah, it is. I used to share with Gin until I was six. Dad and our Uncle Robert converted the attic for me. it's really cool to live up here"

Harry looked around the room in awe. He almost walked into Luna, who had sat down in the middle of the room, crossed legged.

Ginny sat down on a bright orange bean bag whilst Ron jumped on his bed. Harry followed Luna's lead and sat on the floor.

"So," Harry said, looking around the room once again "Why all the orange?"

"Team colors," Ron said, noticing Harry's confused look he continued "I support one of the local teams. The Chudley Cannons"

Ginny snorted "They haven't won a match in years. I support the Holyhead Harpies, they're all female"

"Harpies!" Harry croaked.

"Yes, Harry" Ginny battered her eyelids at him "Then there are Puddlemare United and the Tutshell Tornados. there all football teams"

Harry nodded. He and his dad were big football fans and they often went to matches when James could get the day off. Harry was about to ask what league football team Ron and Ginny, Luna had said in passing she didn't like football but liked to watch, supported but was interrupted by a car pulling into the drive.

"Bill's here!" Ginny squealed before she rushed down the ladder. The others followed her into the kitchen where Bill was hugging Ginny. He was a tall man, with long red hair tied into a ponytail with a fang earring. Harry thought he looked very cool but couldn't imagine how Bill worked in a bank.

"Bill, this is my new friend Harry," It was clear Ginny absolutely adored Bill

"Hi, Harry" Bill grinned and winked, increasing his coolness in Harry's opinion. "Here's your present, firefly"

Ginny squealed softly again as Bill handed her thin, rectangular object. Harry chuckled as he watched Ginny rip the wrapping paper off, revealing a picture of Gwenog Jones with a signature on it in silver ink.

Ginny gasped "Oh my God!, Oh my God!," she launched herself at Bill, hugging tightly "How did you get this?"

Bill grinned "Well, when the Jones family does business at Gringotts, its pretty easy to meet Gwenog Jones"

"Thank you, Thank you, Thank you," Ginny cried as she hugged Bill again. She then rushed upstairs, presumably too put her gift somewhere safe.

She had only been gone for a few seconds when the door opened to reveal a man in red, knee-high boots, bright green cord trousers and flowery, flowing shirt with long, dirty blonde hair. Daisy perched behind his ear.

"Hello again, everyone," The man said, smiling airly. he walked over to Luna and kissed her forehead "Princess"

"Hello, Daddy," Luna said, she then indicated Harry "This is Harry Potter, my new friend"

"Hello, Harry Potter," The man said "Xenophilius Lovegood"

Harry shook the man's outstretched hand "Nice to meet you, Mr. Lovegood"

"How polite" Mr. Lovegood commented.

"Xeno, these are James and Lily Potter, they've just moved here" Mr. Weasley said. After the introduction were done, Ginny returned just in time for Charlie to arrive. He was big and stocky with hundreds of scars on his arms and a military-style beard. Harry thought he looked like a badass.

"Hi," Charlie said as he kissed his mum on the cheek.

"How was the journey, dear?" Mrs. Weasley asked.

"Oh, fine, train as nice as ever," Charlie smiled before being introduced to Harry, James and Lily.

The birthday dinner was served shortly after that. Harry didn't think he had ever seen so much food before. there were, sausages, a chicken, Yorkshire puddings and a whole lot more foods he dug his teeth into during the course of the meal, which were all fabulous in taste. He was feeling very full at the end. and he still had a few scraps on his plate.

Ron's plate was basically squeaky clean.

But it wasn't the end, Mrs. Weasley then brought out Ginny's, who was seating at the head of the table, opposite to her father, Ron and Luna next to her with Harry seating next to Ron, Favourite pudding, which was delicious strawberry cheesecake.

When Harry thought the meal was over, he was very much mistaken. Mrs. Weasley brought out the cake. it was Victoria sponge cake covered in green icing and an arrangement of sweets. Harry could only manage one slice.

"You eat to fast, Harry" Lily scolded her son gently, smirking. she had eaten the same amount of food he had but had managed two slices of the cake.

Harry pulled a face but was too full up to say anything. Everyone just lounged around the table talking, as Mrs. Weasley cleared it away. It was half an hour later when Mrs. Weasley suggested they go outside and have a look at the farm.

Harry, Ginny, Ron and Luna put there coats and boots on, Harry borrowed an old pair from Percy, and left the Burrow. The farm was rather small, apart from the barn, which according to Ginny they weren't aloud to go into, there was the cow pen, were a lonely old cow named Errol stood, munching on grass lazily.

"He's not much, but he gives us fresh milk" Ron shrugged. Ginny, seeing the boredom, suggested they go see the vegetable garden. Harry turned around and was about to walk forwards when a purple fluff darted in front of him. He yelped and stood back.

"That's Arnold," Luna said. on closer inspection, Harry could see it was a cat with... purple fur.

"Hello, Arnie," Ginny cooed, picking him up and cuddling him to her chest. "What have you been doing?"

Arnold purred in satisfaction as Ginny stroked his belly.

"He's... He's purple!" Harry said, shocked.

"Yeah, we got him from a shelter a few years ago," Ginny told him. "He was purple then too. The shelter people said they thought he was either exotic or a product of a nasty experiment."

Harry didn't think a cat could go purple, no matter what breed it was. Just another strange thing from the town of Hogsmeade. They walked over to the vegetable garden next, it was full to the brim with all sorts of vegetables, like carrots, cabbages, rhubarb, potatoes and loads more.

"That's big," Harry said. Ron and Ginny nodded in agreement.

"There be ready to pick soon"

next to the vegetable garden was the back garden of the Burrow. it was surrounded by a fence and at the far end was a chicken hooch whist the aforementioned animals walked, causally around. two-goal posts were placed near the hooch and small flower garden lined the house' wall with a water tank as well.

"Let's play footie," Ron suggested. So that's how Ron, Harry and Ginny started to kick an old, withered football around. Ron played goalie, for which he was decent since it was his favourite position, whilst Harry and Ginny took turns in trying to score. Luna sat atop of the water tank, cross-legged and Arnold in her lap whilst she commentated.

Luna as a commentator was very funny.

Mrs. Weasley called them in after a while, for which they were glad since it was getting dark and cold out. Once they got inside, were they saw the adults eating cheese and biscuits (Percy and the Twins were no were to be seen), Mr. Lovegood announced that he and Luna had to go.

"Must go, we would of walked but the wind-chimes advised us not too" Mr. Lovegood said, his eyes unfocused like he was staring into his reflection of one of the knifes at the other end of the kitchen.

"Wind-chimes?" James asked, confused.

"Well..." Mr. Lovegood began, retaking his chair. It wasn't until an hour later that the Lovegood's actually left. Luna had hugged every person there, Ron the tightest of course. whilst the grown-ups talked, the trio watched cartoons until, at 8pm, Lily came in and told Harry it was time to go.

"Bye, Harry," Ginny said, hugging him tightly. "Thank you for coming"

"That's fine, Happy birthday," Harry said, embracing her.

"See ya, mate," Ron said as he and Harry did a silly handshake/fist-bump they had seen on the Tv.

"Goodbye, dear" Mrs. Weasley said, giving Harry a pat on the cheek. "Lovely of you to come"

"Thank you for inviting me, Mrs. Weasley," Harry smiled. "The meal was great"

"Your welcome, dear," She said. Harry said goodbye one last time before leaving. The car journey back home was mainly in silence apart from the few yawns that escaped their lips some times.

Once back at their house, Harry went straight upstairs and fell asleep instantly, still in his clothes. He dreamt of Arnold the purple cat, Errol the old cow and Luna, the unique girl.

He couldn't wait for tomorrow.

* * *

_Hope you enjoyed._


	3. Neville And School

**AUGUST, 1992.**

Harry woke up the next morning feeling refreshed. It was only 9 am in the morning so he just laid in bed until he got bored and decided to read the issue of _The Quibbler _that Luna had given him the day before. Harry, who had never really read magazines, thoroughly enjoyed _The Quibbler_.

He enjoyed the conspiracy theories it talked about, like the existence of Vampires or the true tale of Frankenstein's Monster. But what really interested Harry was the article about Alien abductions. this particular one was about local women called Bertha Jorkins, who claimed to have been sucked up into a rock shaped spaceship and being introduced to black, hooded figures that stole all the happiness from her body.

Harry was so caught up in reading that he missed his mother's call for breakfast.

"Harry, I said breakfast was ready," Lily said as she came into his room.

"Sorry, mum," Harry said, looking up from _The Quibbler _and putting it on his bedside cabinet before getting up. "It's just really interesting. can we subscribe"

"Whatever you want, darling" Lily said as they walked downstairs and sat down for breakfast, which was just a cheese toastie.

"Harry, I thought you could write to Neville today" Lily suggested. Harry felt his heart sink, in all the excitement of meeting Ron and Ginny he had completely forgotten about his best friend since nursery, Neville Longbottom.

"Okay, mum," Harry said, still feeling guilty. He finished his breakfast quickly after that and went upstairs to write his letter to Neville.

Although it took some time, Harry had never been that good at English, he finally finished his letter just around 12 am. Harry read it through before he went downstairs to see what was for lunch

_Longbottom Manor._

_Peverell Road._

_Godric's Hollow, Somerset._

_Dear, Neville_

_I'm writing to you to say hello and, more importantly, tell you how we're doing. sorry, I didn't write sooner but I was feeling a bit overwhelmed with the whole moving thing. First off, How are you? I hope you're keeping yourself busy and you and Hannah aren't getting bored to death by Hermione. tell me what's happening, I miss the village a lot._

_I've met some new friends here. Their very nice and think you would like them. They're called Ron and Ginny Weasley. Ron's very funny and is into football (He plays Goalie). Ginny likes football too and is even better than me (Big surprise!), She's pretty and has a great imagination._

_Hogsmeade, that's where we've moved too by the way if you didn't know, is a strange but awesome town. the shops are great and they have some very unique folklore about magic and aliens, but don't ask me to explain. Our neighbor, Hagrid, is like seven-foot but he's really nice and made us a cake to welcome us. Ron and Ginny have a massive family, I've met all five of their brothers, yes that's right, five!._

_Bill's an accountant but looks like a Rockstar, he's really cool. Charlie works with animals and looks like a badass. Percy's okay I guess but he's a bit stiff and Hermione like. The best ones are the Twins, Fred and George, their really funny and play loads of pranks on people. _

_Mr. Weasley runs the local cinema, it's awesome and we saw a movie there. Mrs. Weasley is really nice and is The Greatest Cook I've ever met!. I mean her food is to die for. _

_Anyway, I thought I would let you know what's happening. I miss you, Hannah and Hermione, and hope to see you soon._

_Your brother in all but blood, _

_Harry J. Potter._

Harry felt very pleased with his letter, so picked it up and brought it downstairs so his mum could post it for him.

"What's for lunch, mum?" Harry asked Lily once he entered the kitchen.

"Hagrid has invited us around for a spot of tea" Lily told her son. she then noticed the letter in his hand "But I can post your letter first"

Lily then proceded to put Harry's letter into an envelope before telling Harry to get dressed whilst she posted the letter. 10 Minutes later they found themselves outside 'Hagrid's Hut'

Hagrid's house was a bungalow, which was covered in ivy and other plants. a brick path led up to the front door, surrounded by flowers of all sorts of variety. Lily knocked on the door and they heard stomping feet before Hagrid opened it.

"'Ello, there" The giant smiled "Come on in, then"

Harry and Lily set foot inside the house. like every other house, Harry had been inside in Hogsmeade, the front door led into the kitchen, which was mainly made out of wood apart from the oven. a wooden table stood in the middle.

"Come 'n sit in the garden," Hagrid said, gesturing to the back door. "Lovely weather we're havin'"

"It is, isn't it" Lily smiled before she and Harry walked outback. Hagrid's garden was very overgrown and covered in a vegetable garden full of large pumpkins and marrows. a rickety old shed stood, lopsided and tall at the end.

Harry and Lily sat down at the metal table on the patio. Hagrid came bustling out a moment later in a pink, polka-dot apron with a steaming kettle in one hand and a plate of rock cakes in the other.

"Here, ya go," He said, placing the items down on the table before sitting down himself.

Harry took one bit of the rock cake and felt his teeth almost break. He politely swallowed before setting down the cake and taking a sip of his tea, which was much better, if not a bit too strong for his liking. Hagrid meanwhile hadn't noticed and was explaining the nature of his job to Lily.

A dog bark interrupted their conversation when a large boarhound came barrelling down the garden from the shed.

"'Ello, Fang," Hagrid said, stroking the dog's head.

"What a lovely dog," Lily said faintly.

"Ahh, don't be worried about Fang. he's a right coward" Hagrid reassured her, Fang faced her and looked at her, as if he were dumb.

"Do you have any other animals, Hagrid?" Harry asked. He liked animals.

"Yep, got a load in the shed up there" Hagrid stood, waving for Harry to join him "Come on, I'll show ya"

Harry followed Hagrid to the end of the garden and watched as he opened the door and gestured for him to go in.

Once Harry went inside he saw a multitude of cages and perches. A few, at least three Harry could see, Guineapigs were lazing about in a cage at the bottom whilst three owls sat, perched on stands, each stand had a window next to it, to allow the owls to fly.

There was a beautiful snowy owl, a small, excited looking Scops owl and a majestic looking grey one. "That's Buckbeak," Hagrid said, pointing to the grey one. "The others don't like the names I give them, so they have none"

"They're so cool," Harry said, awed.

"That they are," Hagrid grinned "Perhaps you could name the snowy one"

"Alright," Harry said, still looking at the animals, amazed. He thought back to the books he had read but before he could say the name Hagrid squeezed his arm past him and the snowy owl jumped on the glove he was wearing.

Hagrid allowed Harry to stroke the owl. " Hedwig, That's what I'll name her," Harry told him. The owl nipped at his hand, affectionately and hooted.

"I think she likes it, Hedwig it is then," Hagrid said proudly. "Let's go show ya ma'"

Harry and Hagrid, who still had Hedwig on his arm, walked back over to Lily.

"Oh, my," Lily gasped as they arrived. "What a beautiful owl"

"Her name is Hedwig, mum. I named her myself" Harry told his mum.

"Did you know?," Lily said, smiling as Hagrid let her pet, Hedwig.

Hagrid put Hedwig away after she had had enough and the Potter's left the fine company of Hagrid shortly after that. Due to Hagrid's unedible rock cakes, Lily made Harry and herself a ham sandwich to eat.

Later that afternoon, James came home with a smile on his face. "Come outside, Potter's" He grinned before walking out the door. Lily and Harry shared a look before following him outside. James stood, arms wide next to a brand new bike. "Ta, da"

"Wow, thanks dad," Harry said, rushing over to the bike and already thinking of cycling over to The Burrow to see Ron and Ginny.

"James, where did you get this from?" Lily asked.

"Well, I went down to the pub after work with Proudfoot and Robards. we were talking bikes, Robards' grandson has one, and I said I wanted one for Harry when this guy, Dung Fletcher his name was, said he had one he would give to me for 10 quid"

"And was it 10 pounds, James?" Lily asked, an eyebrow raised.

"Yeah," James said, smiling. "It's totally safe, Lil's"

"Can I try it out, dad?" Harry asked, excited.

"Sure, bud," James said before opening the back door to his car and pulling out a bike helmet. He threw it at Harry, who caught it easily before putting it on and jumping on the bike. pushing off before cycling up the street where the post box was.

Harry cycled back and forth along the street for a bit, he waved to his parents every time he passed their house and, even gave a cheery wave to Hagrid when he came out his bungalow with Fang the Boarhound on a leash.

Harry came to a stop on his driveway, smiling at James and Lily.

"Have fun, cub," James grinned.

"Yeah, Dad," Harry grinned back. "This is awesome!".

* * *

**SEPTEMBER, 1ST. 1992.**

Harry spent almost every day with the Weasleys. He sometimes cycled, to the Burrow where he, Ron and Ginny would either play there or cycle somewhere else in the town. They sometimes went and saw a movie at 'Weasley's Moving Pictures'.

Harry was having the time of his life.

But before he knew it, it was September, 1st. which meant it was his first day at his new school, Hogwarts Secondary School and Sixth Form Centre. Harry had to admit, he hadn't actually thought about all that much. But standing in his room, looking at his new uniform in the full-length mirror on his wardrobe, Harry was feeling nervous.

His old school near Godric's Hollows didn't have uniforms this smart. It consisted of black trousers and a blazar with a circular grey badge on the right collar with a white 'H' embroidered on.

The jumper was also grey and he had to wear a black tie along with his shirt, which was white.

"You look so smart, Dear," Lily said as he came downstairs for breakfast.

"Thanks, mum" Harry mumbled before he started eating his cereal. James came down at that moment in full uniform, he kissed Lily and ruffled his son's hair.

"Sure you don't me to drop you off?" James asked.

Harry shook his head. Ron and Ginny had promised him a space on the bus.

Soon enough it was time for Harry to catch the bus. He kissed his mother's cheek "You'll be okay, baby" She whispered in his ear, after a quick hug with his dad, Harry started to walk up to the bus stop, which was next to the church.

Upon arriving at the bus stop, Harry noticed the handsome, dark-haired boyfriend he had seen during his first outing to the cinema. He was wearing a very similar uniform to Harry's but he had a yellow tie and his badge was also yellow with a black 'H' on it.

"Hello," The boy said. "You just moved down the road, didn't you?" Harry nodded, a little shy around the older boy "Cedric Diggory,"

"Harry Potter," Harry replied, jutting out his hand to shake Cedric's.

"Nice to meet you, Harry," Cedric said. "I saw your friends with the Weasley kids already"

"Yeah," Harry said, blushing ever so slightly "They're been really nice to my family"

Cedric chuckled "Of course they have, there's not a bad bone in any of them"

Harry chuckled along with the older boy, who looked around the Twins age.

"I'm classmates with the Twins, Fred and George" Cedric said, confirming Harry's theories "Funny as hell, those two are. and great at footie"

"Yeah," Harry agreed, Fred and George were hilarious.

"You play?" Cedric asked. "Football I mean"

"Oh, yeah," Harry said.

"You should go to the school club," Cedric said "I'm on the team but the practices are really fun"

"Okay, I'll think about it," Harry said at the exact moment the bus arrived. It was a single-decker, purple bus with the words 'Knight Buses' in black on the side. Cedric pulled out a leather wallet and produced his bus pass.

Harry, who held no fancy leather wallet, pulled out his own bus pass. it was a piece of plastic with his name and passport photo on it. Cedric got on first and showed the bus driver, who was a thin and old man, the pass before two familiar voices called "Oi, alright Cedric?!"

Harry didn't hear Cedric's response because he moved further up the bus. Harry stepped on and showed the bus driver his pass, the man squinted his eyes before looking over his shoulder to a skinny, spotty boy who was reading a swimsuit magazine.

"Hey, Stan, what's this say?"

Stan looked over to the bus pass before saying "'Arry Potter, Uncle Ernie"

"'tanks, Stan," Ernie said "Your the new kid, got on then"

"T-Thank, sir," Harry said, causing Ernie to chuckle.

The first thing Harry saw on the bus was that it was mainly full and that Cedric was sitting next to Cho Chang. Harry saw the Twins at the very back of the bus, in the middle seats, Fred, or who he thought was Fred, motioned with his head for Harry to join them. So Harry walked to the back.

Back in Harry's old school, only the 'cool' kids sat at the back of the bus. Harry guessed the Weasley's were the cool kids in this one. He couldn't argue with that.

Once at the back, Harry saw the rest of the Weasley's. Fred was seating on the very middle seat, there were two seats each side so there was only one in the middle, with George on his right and a dark-skinned boy with dreadlocks to his left.

Next to the dark-skinned boy sat Percy, who unlike the others was wearing a brown suit, and next to George was a dark-skinned girl with long dark hair.

In the seats in front of George and the girl sat Ginny and Luna, in their own uniform, looking nervous whilst Ron sat in front of the boy and Percy. Harry sat down next to Ron.

"Morning, mate," Ron said, grinning.

"Morning," Harry grinned back.

"Hiya, Harry," Ginny smiled, but still looking nervous.

"Hello, Harry Potter," Luna said, staring off into space. Lily had gotten Harry a subscription to _The Quibbler _and Harry was enjoying it very much, He and Luna had talked a lot about the theories in the magazine.

"This is, Lee Jordon, Harry" Fred said, The boy with dreadlocks waved, before throwing a fake spider at the girl next to George. Who shrieked before throwing it back, angrily. The Twins and Lee laughed.

"And I'm Angelina Johnson," The girl smiled but was still glaring at Lee.

The bus, which had started moving once Harry sat down and was very fast, slowed and stopped at another bus stop. a pretty girl with curly, blonde hair got on and came walking towards the end.

"Hi, Lavender," Ron said enthusiastically, Luna looked put out. "Do you want to sit with me?"

"No, thank you, Ron," Lavender said. "You're sitting next to someone. I'll just sit next to Parvati"

Ron seemed to notice Harry and went red. Ginny was giggling like mad and said "Got a little crush, Ronnie,"

"Shut up, Ginny," Ron hissed whilst Harry tried not to laugh. The Twins, Lee and Angelina were openly snickering and Harry swore he heard Percy snort.

Ron, in an obvious attempt to change the subject, started to describe what to expect at Hogwarts but Harry had noticed something about the Twins. Their uniforms were also different from his. They had red ties and a red badge with a yellow 'G' on it. Harry, who had been too shy to ask Cedric, asked why they were different.

"We're Gryffindor's, M'boy," George grinned, Harry shot them a confused look.

"Well, there are four colleges," Fred told him.

"There's Gryffindor," George continued.

"And there's Ravenclaw," Fred continued further.

"And Hufflepuff," George continued even further.

"And you can't forget shrewd Slytherin," Fred finished with a grin.

"You get sorted into them in year 9," George explained.

"So you'll get sorted next year," Fred continued, yet again.

"But what do they mean?" Harry asked, still a bit confused and, if he had to be honest, dazed from the Twin speaking.

"Well, Harry," Percy said from behind him "Whatever house your in, depends on your grades, type of character and sometimes family heritage"

"Don't make it boring, Perce," George said.

Percy rolled his eyes and continued "There named after famous people from the town, Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw and... Salazar Slytherin" Percy leaned back and looked down at his book again "I highly doubt you know who they are, so ask Ron. You'll probably understand it better coming from him" Percy finished in his normal pompous voice.

Harry thought Percy's words had another meaning to them. Like Harry wouldn't understand the older Weasley's vocabulary. Harry pushed the feeling of annoyance away before turning to Ron.

"Well, we told you already about Gryffindor haven't we?," Ron said, Harry nodded, thinking about the day he, Ron and Ginny had explored the town and he had asked about the church, St. Godric's "Well, Helga Hufflepuff was a farmer in the middle ages, she was known from far around for how tasty her food was. She had a famous cup with a badger engraved on it that she apparently used to drink her own homemade beer out of. She wrote a lot of poetry you see, so that's really why she's in there"

"Then Rowena Ravenclaw," Ron continued, He had Harry full attention "Was the eldest of three sisters, There was Rowena, Helena, and Marion. They were healers and cured many diseases in their day, the middle ages again, until Helena told the local Witchfinder general, The Baron, that her sisters were Witches. Rowena and Marion were burnt at the stake. Rowena was very smart and made a Diadem that could apparently give the wearer knowledge unrivaled by all. That's what historians think Helena wanted but we don't know if it actually existed or not"

"The Baron tried to win the heart of Helena but she rejected him, so he accused her of being a Witch as well, and she was burnt at the stake too but The Baron felt guilty, so he killed himself in his house. That house today is the shrieking shack, its an old hut in the forest and you can hear the anguish cries of The baron, grieving the loss of his love"

Ginny interjected. "The three sisters became known as 'The Weird Sisters', their one of our most popular folklore. some of the sixth formers at school are even in a band named after them, Our cousin Solomon is their lead singer. there not half bad in my opinion. There's also a local library called, St. Rowena's"

"Wow," Harry said, amazed at the story he had just been told. "What about Slytherin?"

"Let me tell it, Ron, you know I can tell it better then you," Ginny commanded.

"Yeah, yeah," Ron muttered.

"Alright, so Salazar was the only one who wasn't from the middle ages. he was from victorian times and he came from a rich family, he bought a big manor house here in Hogsmeade-"

"There's a manor in Hogsmeade?" Harry asked, shocked, he hadn't known that. Neville lived in a manor house, so he knew what one looked like.

"Yeah, it's on a hill on the other side of the main road, surrounded by trees, Big woods everyone calls the Forbidden Forest. because beasts and ghosts live there" Ron told him.

"Do you want to hear about Slytherin or not?" Ginny huffed, Harry gulped and nodded, not wanting to be on Ginny's bad side. Ever "Well, Salazar had an obsession with dark magic according to locals, and kept a giant snake as a pet. People started to disappear until Slytherin was killed by his gardener, Frank Bryce, who died of cancer only weeks after. He was buried in a tomb underneath the manor, where people say he conducted his magical experiments. The manor's said to be haunted but that's probably just superstition"

Harry's mouth was fully open at the end of the story. It was a proper ghost tale, like the ones his Uncle Remus would tell him and Neville during their sleepovers.

"Yeah, so that's the colleges," Ron said as if it wasn't a big deal at all "Fred and George call them-"

"The Founders of Hogwarts," The Twins shouted in unison, smiling broadly.

Harry, still dazed from the grand story just told, hadn't realized that the bus had stopped until Ron got up. Harry got up and swung his bag on his back, walking off the bus and to his first day at Hogwarts.

Hogwarts School looked like any other secondary school, it was made up of several brick buildings with a large courtyard in the center, a magnificent willow tree stood, sleepily in the middle. The sports hall, which doubled for assemblies, was the biggest building and was easily accessed from where the bus stop was.

"You've got to go in the hall, Ginny," Ron told his sister, hugging her briefly to whisper a word of comfort in her ear.

"Good luck," Harry said to both girls but he was primarily looking at Ginny. she pinkened slightly before she and Luna walked over to the line of year 7's that had formed and, soon enough, had disappeared into the hall.

"Come on, mate," Ron said and He and Harry started to walk to their form room.

The Headmistress of the school had mailed the Potter's, Harry's school details and he had found out he was in Ron's form.

Ron led Harry to a three-story building, they went inside and waited outside the classroom. The hallway had various displays on them that didn't really interest Harry.

At that point, a pale boy with slicked back, platinum blonde hair in a finely pressed school uniform bumped into Ron. "Watch it, Weasley," He spat.

"Who was that?" Harry asked, not liking the boy at all. Ron was glaring at the boy, who was walking off with two big, beefy students that looked like his bodyguards.

"That's Draco Malfoy," Ron said through gritted teeth. "He's the son of the local 'Businessman' Lucius Malfoy," Ron made air quotes with his hands. "He's a right ponce, thinks he's better than everyone because he's rich"

"Sounds like a prat to me," Harry said, Ron, nodding in agreement.

"Remember Slytherin's manor?" Ron said, Harry nodded, still fresh from the creepy story Ginny had told on the bus. "Well, Draco's granddad bought it, and they live in it now. Renamed it 'Malfoy Manor' and everything"

Soon, other students came, which included Lavender from the bus, and lined up outside the class until a bell rang and the class filed into the classroom. The room was decorated with other displays and the teacher's desk was decorated with a crystal ball and a coffee cup full of quills.

When the teacher came in, Harry thought she looked like a gypsy fortune teller. Her large eyes scanned the room until they landed on Harry. She scurried over to the table He, Ron, Seamus Finnigan, and Dean Thomas.

"Hello, my dear," She said, her voice sounding like a prophet. "Mrs. Trelawney, teacher of sociology. I'm your form teacher, and," Mrs. Trelawney grabbed his hand and draw circles on it with her finger, she looked like she was in a trance "I sense you will be a part of the future of this town" She seemed to come out of her trance and pulled out a sheet of paper out of her pocket and place it in front of Harry "Your timetable, my boy,"

Mrs. Trelawney walked over to her desk to take the register after that, leaving a bewildered Harry behind.

"Absolutely, barmy, that one," Ron whispered. "Come on, let's see if we're in the same class," to their satisfaction, they were. as were Seamus and Dean. unfortunately, as they found out as they arrived at their first lesson, Maths, they were also in the same class as Draco Malfoy and his goons, Gregory Goyle and Vincent Crabbe.

Maths was a strange class. Harry found it easy since he had always been good at the subject but their teacher, Mr. Flitwick, had Dwarfism and had to walk on his desk to write on the board. Mr. Flitwick had a good sense of humor though because he joked about his height many times during the lesson and even laughed along with the rest of the class when he almost fell off his desk.

English was much different, Mrs. McGonagall was a very stern woman and didn't like interruption unless needed. She told them they would be doing Shakespeare's play, Romeo and Juliet, which caused the male population of the class to groan whilst the females whispered excitedly.

After English was a break, so Harry and Ron sat on a bench in the courtyard to wait for Ginny and Luna.

"What we got next?" Ron asked as he bit into an apple.

"Science," Harry answered, looking at his timetable.

"We just had that," Ginny said as she and Luna walked up to them. "Mr. Slughorn is nice, but definitely favors people,"

"Yeah, he was like that last year," Ron said. The group chatted for awhile and a sign next to the willow tree caught his eye. It said 'The Whomping Willow'

"Why's it called that?," Harry asked after he pointed it out to the others.

"Oh, a guy called Grogan Stump planted it," Ron said, causally. "Legend has it he cursed the tree and it comes alive at night"

Break ended soon after, finding Ron and Harry in the Science lab. Mr. Slughorn was nice but as Ginny had said, clearly played favorites. fortunately, he was favoring Harry this lesson. Harry had the small feeling that Slughorn knew he was the son of a police officer.

Mr. Slughorn was called away by some other teacher halfway through the lesson and left. Draco Malfoy turned towards Harry.

"So, your Harry Potter, then," Malfoy said. "New in town ah, If you know the Weasley's you must live in their pigsty"

"Shut up, Malfoy," Harry retorted, feeling angry on both his and the Weasley's behalf. Malfoy's eyes widened as if he hadn't expected Harry to talk back to him. "And I'll have you know, the Weasley's pigsty is better looking then you'll ever be"

"Oooh," The rest of the class said.

"Why, you little..." But whatever Malfoy was about to say was interrupted by the return of Mr. Slughorn.

"That was bloody awesome, mate," Ron said as they walked to their next lesson, P.E.

Harry shrugged. "He's a prat. I couldn't let him bad mouth your family that way" He said as they arrived at the changing rooms.

It was a dry day so everyone could sit on the grass on the large football pitch at the back of the school. Harry sat, cross-legged with Ron, Seamus and Dean. Harry noticed that a hard-faced girl was practically sitting in Draco Malfoy's lap.

"That's Pansy Parkinson," Ron told Harry, seeing where he was staring. "She's practically in love with him" he spat in disgust.

Miss. Hooch, who greatly resembled an eagle, arrived and with one piercing gaze got everyone's attention. "Now, before we start I just want to say that the football club will be starting next Tuesday, I hope to see many of you" Hooch then looked at them like she was evaluating them "Now, I want you to do 10 push-ups, each. now!"

They spent the rest of P.E doing various exercises.

"You should do some exercise, mate," Harry told Ron as they got changed. Harry was in good shape for his age and found the exercises quite easy whilst Ron, who was thin, tall and gangly, was still panting as he registered his tie.

"Shut up, Harry," Ron said. Harry grinned.

Thankfully for Ron, lunch was next and Harry, Ron, Ginny and Luna sat down at one of the tables in the canteen, which was in a building that had been built off of the sports hall.

"Corned beef!" Ron moaned as he got his sandwich out. "She knows I don't like corned beef. She always makes me corned beef,"

Ginny giggled into her own sandwich next to him.

"Swap with you," Harry suggested, he had cheese sandwiches but wouldn't mind corned beef. Ron nodded and snatched the sandwiches in a flash whilst tossing the retched corned beef at Harry.

"Oh, yeah, that good," Ron sighed as he took a bite. "Your mums a good cook, Harry,"

"Not as good as yours," Harry said, eating the delicious corned beef sandwiches.

They finished their lunch and went outside, hanging around the same bench over looking the Whomping Willow they had at break. they had a smashing time with lunch ending with Ron trying to catch sweets in his mouth.

They had Humanities after lunch but it was not interesting at all. Mr. Binns droned on and on about parts of history Harry didn't care about what so ever. Ron had fallen asleep and had to be shaken awake by a snickering Harry.

Art, their last lesson, made up for the boredom that was Humanities. Harry wasn't much of a drawing but he could draw a pretty decent picture when he put his mind to it. Ron, on the other hand, draw a picture that looked like a badger and a dragon had had a baby.

"Ginny and Charlie are the drawers in our family," Ron explained after he handed in his work to Miss. Sprout, the art teacher.

The end of the day came and with that meant Harry and Ron were waiting outside of the school, next to the bus, waiting for Ginny and Luna. the girls came out shortly after and all four of them got on the bus.

"You want to come over today, Harry?" Ginny asked.

"Sorry, can't today, going for dinner at the Three Broomsticks," Harry answered. he was excited to go to the pub but was a little sad he couldn't spend time with his friends.

"Lucky," George said, impressed. Harry shrugged, not wanting to bring up the Weasley's financial situations.

Soon enough the bus stopped at Harry's stop and he got off, waving his goodbyes to Ron, Ginny, Percy, Fred and George.

"See ya around, Harry," Cedric winked before walking in the opposite direction, towards Honeydukes.

Harry took his time going back to house. once he was there though he saw a shiny, black motorbike with the words 'Triumph Firebolt' engraved on it in gold. That only meant one thing.

"Uncle Sirius!" Harry cried as he threw his arms around his godfather as he rushed into the house. He looked exactly like he did last time Harry had seen him, same leather pants, leather jacket and faded Rolling Stones T-shirt.

"Hiya, Prongslet," Sirius said, grinning at his godson. "Fancy meeting you here"

"It's great to see you," Harry mumbled against Sirius' chest. His parents were smiling.

"He's missed you a lot, Padfoot," James said.

"I can see," Sirius laughed "Well, we can catch over dinner,"

Harry, still feeling overjoyed at having his godfather near, practically skipped to the Three Broomsticks. The inside was very wooden with a big bar and loads of tables and chairs scattered around. The Potter's, and one Black, took their seats at their pre-booked table.

Harry excitedly told Sirius everything that had happened in the last month whilst eating the fish he had chosen to order. Just as they were finishing their puddings, a song came on the radio, it was Queen's _Don't Stop me Now._

"Oh, this is my music," Sirius said as he got up and started dancing, making Harry laugh.

A few bar patrons cheered him on and a couple of drunks got up themselves and started dancing, making Harry and others laugh more.

"Come and dance with me, my dear," Sirius said to the landlady, Madam Rosmerta, who was a curvy sort of women with a pretty face and dark blonde hair.

"Why, yes," she curtsied and took Sirius' arm, beginning to dance. By now the entire pub were laughing their heads off, Lily was using James as a support as she giggled madly whilst Harry wiped tears from his eyes as James whistled to his best friend.

It was the best back to school day ever.

* * *

_Hope you enjoyed. _


	4. Halloween!

**SEPTEMBER, 1992.**

Harry was having a great time at school. after dinner at the Three Broomsticks, he and Sirius had raced each other home, much to the amusement of James and Lily. they had spent the rest of the evening watching Tv and Sirius left soon after Harry had gone to bed.

The next day at school, everyone had an assembly, so all the students filed into the hall and into the rows and rows of plastic chairs that lined the floor. Harry, sat next to Ron and Ginny, who they had snuck into their row along with Luna, noticed a pretty woman with blonde hair waiting next to the podium.

"Who's that?" Harry asked Ron.

"Mrs. White, the Principle," Ron said "She started the year I did, teaches maths to sixth form"

Harry nodded and at that moment Mrs. White stood up and walked over to the podium.

"Hello, students of Hogwarts. I'm Mrs. White and I hope you all had a fantastic holiday. I've already talked to the year 7's, so they might hear some things already..."

Harry spent the entire assembly listening to Mrs. White drone on about education and prospering students. He was very thankful when he arrived at Science.

The rest of the day was a normal school day and on the bus home, Ron and Ginny invited him over for dinner at the Burrow the next day. Harry readily agreed and felt rather happy as he got off the bus and walked home. Once he did he found a pleasant surprise.

"Neville's written back too you, dear," Lily told her son, handing him a letter.

"Yes," Harry hissed. he rushed upstairs and instantly opened the letter from his friend.

_Number 7._

_Gryffindor Lane._

_Hogsmeade, Devon._

_Dear Harry,_

_Thanks for your letter. I'm doing good, so is Hannah. Hermione misses you a lot and isn't boring us to death that much. My Great-Uncle Algie took me to the botanical gardens last week and my Gram took me to see a play in London with my cousin, Hawthorne._

_The Weasley's seam nice, I hope we can visit soon and I can meet them, especially Ron and Ginny. Mrs. Weasley's cooking sounds good, maybe I can try some if I ever come and visit._

_Nothing else is really happening around here, to be honest, but I miss you very much._

_Your brother in all but blood,_

_Neville F. Longbottom._

It was a short letter but totally Neville. Harry, who couldn't think of anything to write, put Neville's letter away. The rest of Harry's evening was spent lounging around his room, listening to music until Lily called for dinner.

Harry went downstairs just in time to hear his father say "Bloody Fudge, messing around in parliament" James had a newspaper, the local one: _The Daily Prophet_ in his hands. Harry came over and sat down at the table.

"James," Lily scolded, as she placed a shepherds pie in front of each of them "Watch your language!"

"Oops, sorry Harry," James winked as Lily turned her back, making Harry giggle.

"Mum, Ron, and Ginny invited me round for tea tomorrow, can I go?" Harry said.

"Of course dear, I'll check with Molly when I can pick you up," Lily told her son, who smiled brightly. Dinner was a quiet affair with James and Harry describing their day to each other.

The next day came with another day of school. Harry told Ron and Ginny about being able to attend dinner on the bus, which they were excited about. Harry was also excited but the day couldn't go any slower even if he wanted it too.

Humanities were more boring, P.E was more taxing on his body and English was full of slow, readings of the text. the fun Harry had all day was break and lunch, where he played with Ron, Ginny, and Luna. ever since his first day, Harry and his group of friends had kind of claimed the area around the Whomping Willow as were they hanged out.

Since the Weasley's, and to a certain extent Harry, were popular, nobody challenged them.

Finally, and it seemed like it had taken forever, the end of the day bell rang and Harry, Ron, Ginny, and Luna practically ran outside and onto the bus. It felt strange to Harry not getting off at his own stop but he stayed put as the bus continued down the road and stopped next to the dirt track that led to the Burrow.

Harry, Luna and the Weasley's were the last ones left on the bus as they got off. they all thanked Ernie before saying their goodbyes to Luna and walking the short walk down to the farm.

"Harry, dear, how good to see you," Mrs. Weasley cried as she hugged him and kissed his cheek. Harry went red and discreetly wiped his cheek whilst the Twins snickered. Harry had originally thought that the feast they had had at Ginny's birthday party was just for that but he was very much mistaken when he saw the food being prepared.

"Have you done the science homework yet, Harry?" Ron asked once the trio had arrived in Ron's attic room.

"Yeah," Harry said, having done the homework the night before.

"What do you guys think of, Mr. Quirrell?" Ginny asked, sprawled out on Ron's bed. Harry and Ron were on the floor.

"Who?" Ron asked, confused.

"My maths teacher, you don't have him?" Ginny said.

"No idea who he is," Ron said.

"Oh, well, he's the one with the purple suit," Ginny told them, Harry nodded, having seen this teacher before. "And he stutters like a schoolboy,"

"I've seen him before," Harry said. "But we have Flitwick,"

"Lucky," Ginny muttered, "Fred and George say he's funny"

"He is, " Ron confirmed.

"Anyway," Ginny continued "my classmate Zach, he's an absolute prat, says that Quirrell has loads of pet lizards,"

"What?!," Ron screwed up his face "Lizards? what kind of wacko owns lizards?"

"My friend Neville has a toad," Harry told them "His names Trevor,"

"Who?" Ginny asked, confused. "Neville I mean, I've never heard you mention him,"

"I've never mentioned Neville before?," Harry asked shocked, Ron and Ginny shook their heads and Harry, once again, felt like he had forgotten his best friend "His names Neville Longbottom. we met in nursey but I think are dads went to school together or something. anyway he's my best friend"

"Oh," Ginny said, a strange look on her face. "Your best friend,"

"I thought we were your best friends," Ron muttered, crossly. Harry realized his mistake and also realized that the look on Ginny's face was hurt.

"Yes! of course, your my best friends," Harry said quickly but truthfully "It's just I've known Neville for ages and he's like my brother really. you're my best friends!" Harry was surprised by his words. yes, they were his best friends but they also had more in common with him then Neville, Hannah and Hermione ever had.

"Thank you, Harry," Ginny said softly "It's just we never had many friends growing up apart from Luna, so we've got a bit clingy with you. Sorry"

"It's alright, Gin," Harry said, getting up and sitting next to her on the bed, also putting an arm around her "I didn't realize what I said"

"That's okay, mate," Ron said "tell us about Neville,"

"Well, he doesn't like football," Harry started, much to the shock of Ron and Ginny. "He likes plants and helps his Uncle Algie in his greenhouse, and he likes planting flowers with his mum, my aunt Alice. his dad is my Uncle Frank"

"Like pseudo Uncle and Aunts?" Ginny asked, Harry, nodded. Ginny nodded in understanding.

"What the hell does pseudo mean?" Ron asked, confused.

"Honorary," Harry stated. Ron nodded, still looking a bit confused. "Anyway, me and Neville met this girl in primary school called Hannah Abbott. we became fast friends with her and by the end of year 6, my cousin Hermione had moved to Godric's Hollow"

"They sound nice," Ginny said.

"They are. Hannah's very lively, Neville's got a crush on her, whilst Hermione's very smart, too smart I would say. she's very bossy sometimes but her hearts in the right place,"

"Sounds like a nightmare to me," Ron mumbled. Harry laughed.

"She can be sometimes, but she's family," he said.

"They sound very nice, Harry," Ginny said, smiling "I hope we can meet them one day,"

"I'm sure you will," Harry said, returning the smile "Neville wanted to meet you guys in the letter he sent me,"

Before dinner was called, Harry, Ginny, and Ron talked about their childhoods, Mainly Harry regaling stories about his childhood friends. Dinner was delicious as ever, they had a full roast with homemade chocolate cake for dessert.

Harry was full to the brim by the time the meal had ended.

"Daddy, can we show Harry the bow and arrow?" Ginny asked, sweetly.

"Well, I'll have to be there of course," Mr. Weasley said slowly "But I don't see a reason not too. That's alright with you, Molly?"

"Yes, just be careful," Mrs. Weasley said, a bit worried.

"Have you ever fired a bow before, Harry?" Mr. Weasley asked as he helped his wife clear away the dishes.

"No. My Granddad Monty took me shooting once, with guns but I didn't like that much," Harry answered. he felt a small pang at mentioning his grandfather Fleamont, who had died of lung cancer 3 years ago.

"Yes, not very nice things guns, are they," Mr. Weasley said "But no worries, I'll show how to use a bow. I've been using one since I was six, my own father, Septimus, was a great archer and I fortunately, inherited his love for the sport. You'll enjoy it, Harry"

Harry nodded, not really knowing what to say but soon enough he, Ron, Ginny, The Twins, and Mr. Weasley were outside in their coats. Mr. Weasley brought his bow and arrows out whilst the twins heaved a hare bail with a target on it into the middle of the Burrow's courtyard.

Harry enjoyed archery very much. after Mr. Weasley showed him how to use a bow, he managed to get a bullseye on his first try. He and the Weasleys took turns shooting the bow with Ginny being the best, something she constantly reminded her brothers.

As it was getting dark, Mr. Weasley put the bow and arrow away whilst the others played football on the courtyard.

Soon, but too soon in Harry's opinion, James and Lily came to pick Harry up. He said goodbye to his friends, Ron pounded him on the back, Ginny gave her customary warm hug and the Twins slipped him a whoopie cushion whilst they pretended to beg him not to leave.

Harry couldn't help but smile all the way home. Lily had invited Ron and Ginny around for dinner next week.

* * *

**SEPTEMBER, 1992.**

The next week came quickly and that gave way for Harry and Ron to join the school's football club. Other than Miss. Hooch, who was watching the practices like a hawk, the two main people in charge were Cedric Diggory and Oliver Wood, who was so football-obsessed it was scary.

Harry thoroughly loved the club, they played games for fun whilst the older kids gave them pointers. the only bad thing about the club was that Draco Malfoy was in attendance, the boy would boast about meeting footballers like Kevin Broadmoor of West Ham or Viktor Krum of the Bulgarian National Football Team.

Although Harry, Ron, Seamus, and Dean couldn't stop laughing when Miss. Hooch, Oliver, and Cedric all told him he had been kicking a ball wrong for years.

Harry, Ron, and Ginny, who hadn't joined the club since there was a separate one for girls, something Ginny thought was incredibly sexist, walked from school to the Potter's cottage for dinner. they had just turned the corner when a big, booming voice called out to them.

"'Arry, who's ya friends?," Hagrid asked, leaning over his garden fence to get a better look at them

"I'm Ginny Weasley," She said.

"And I'm Ron Weasley," He said.

"Another, Weasley, ah. Ya brother Charlie was a good friend of mine," Hagrid said fondly. "Great with Animals he was. Names Hagrid by the way. I'll tell ya what, want to come and have a look at me pets?"

"Sure, Hagrid," Harry replied, Rona and Ginny, nodded.

The three followed Hagrid into his back garden and up to the old, ramshackle shed. The giant opened it and gestured to the many animals inside.

"That's Buckbeak," Hagrid pointed to the grey owl "That's Hedwig, Harry named her himself," Hagrid smiled as he pointed to the snowy owl.

"They're beautiful," Ginny gushed.

"Yeah," Ron agreed "Their cool,"

Ginny then squealed when the small, scops owl flew over to her and landed on her shoulder.

"Ooh, he's so cute," Ginny cooed, letting the owl nip ay her finger. "What's his name?"

"Doesn't have one, none of the names I give him he likes," Hagrid said, echoing what he had said to Harry when he had introduced him to the animals "You can name him if ya want?"

"Can I?" Ginny said excitedly. she stroked the owl for a while before deciding on the name "I'm going to name you Pigwidgeon" The owl hooted and nipped at her fingers, obviously liking the name.

"Pigwidgeon?!," Ron said, incredulously "What kinda name is Pigwidgeon?!"

"A name, Ronald," Ginny replied coolly "A name he likes. don't you Pig,"

Ron continued to look at Ginny like she had lost her mind whilst Hagrid chuckled.

"Pigwidgeon it is then," He said "Ah, almost forgot. I've got a new pet ta show ya," Hagrid bent down in the shed and pulled out a lizard.

"Bearded dragon," Hagrid said proudly "Got him off Mr. Quirrell down the pub. Called him Norbert,"

"He's lovely Hagrid," Harry said, smiling politely.

They spent another few minutes chatting with Hagrid before they made their goodbyes. Harry, Ron, and Ginny walked out of Hagrid's Hut and into Potter's cottage.

"Hello, you three," Lily smiled as she kissed her son on the forehead. "Dinner will be ready at six"

"Okay, Mrs. Potter/Mum," they chorused and rushed up to Harry's room.

"Cool room, mate," Ron commented before making himself at home.

"Thanks," Harry said absently. The trio hanged out in Harry's bedroom for a few hours before dinner was called. they talked and played with the Gameboy Harry owned.

Once they had arrived in the kitchen, Harry was pleasantly surprised to find his godfather sitting at the table.

"Hi, Uncle Sirius," Harry said. Sirius had just been transferred to the Hogsmeade police force a few days earlier and he didn't see much of his godson because of work and school.

"Hiya, Kiddo," Sirius grinned.

"This is Ginny and Ron, my friends," Harry said.

"Hello," Sirius winked. "Harry, you never told me you had such a pretty girlfriend"

Harry and Ginny went red and started spluttering.

"I was only joking," Sirius laughed. Dinner was served to a still very red Harry and Ginny, who kept sneaking glances at each other for the start of the meal. Once dinner was finished the occupants of the table were having their dessert as James and Sirius regaled many stories about their childhood.

"And then Prongs, here, came barreling towards this woman and she didn't see that coming!" Sirius laughed loudly, the others joining in once the story ended.

"If you don't mind me asking," Ginny said after the laughter had died down "But why the nicknames?"

"What a good question," James grinned "Well there's a bit of story behind it. Me, Sirius here and our other friend, Remus Lupin, were best friends the first day back in school. Sirius called us the Maruarders and in year 8, our English class did a quiz to find out our spirit animal"

"It was a good quiz," Sirius remembered fondly "I was a big, shaggy, black dog. can't remember the breed for the life of me but I came up with the nickname Padfoot from that,"

"Same with me," James said "I'm a stag, Prongs comes from that. Remus is moony because he was a wolf and P... and, yeah, we all got tattoos of them"

"Really?!," Ron said, awed "That's awesome"

"Yeah," James grinned and pulled up his sleeve to reveal a pure white stag tattoo.

"Cool!," The kids said in unison. "Where's yours, Uncle Sirius?" Harry asked.

"A place where the sun doesn't shine, Harry" Sirius winked, Harry, Ron, and Ginny snickered. Lily clipped him on the back of the head

"Sirius!" She scolded.

"Dear God, women," Sirius muttered as he rubbed the back of his head, causing more chuckles.

"I took the quiz when I married James," Lily told the kids, still looking disapprovingly at Sirius "I'm a doe,"

"Do you have a tattoo, Mrs. Potter?" Ginny asked.

"No, dear," Lily said in distain.

"Can we do the quiz, dad?" Harry asked, excitedly.

"Sure, the quiz is upstairs," James said before rushing up the stairs and returning moments later with a few pieces of paper and three pens. The quiz took no time at all, Lily held a sheet of paper with a list of animals on it.

"Okay, Harry your a Stag," Lily said after they had given her their scores. "Ginny your a mare Horse and Ron your a jack terrier,"

Harry smiled happily, he had the same spirit animal as his father.

"Nice one, son," James said proudly, he hugged his son.

Mr. Weasley picked Ron and Ginny not long after that and took them home. Harry went to bed very happy, it had been a great day and he had dreams of his dad and Uncle Sirius morphing into their animals.

* * *

**OCTOBER, 31ST. 1992.**

September soon became October and soon enough it was the first half-term of the school year. it was only two weeks but Harry used every opportunity to spend time with his friend. before school ended Harry and Ron had been going to football club and Harry had formed a friendship with Cedric Diggory.

Harry, at this moment in time, sat in his living room dressed as Batman. It was Halloween and he, and his dad were joining Ron, Ginny, The Twins and Mr. Weasley in going around the town, trick or tricking. It had been a tradition for Harry to dress as Batman and James as Robin since he was eight and gotten bored dressing as the sidekick.

Lily was staying behind to give other kids sweets when they came. Hagrid had given them a massive pumpkin that he, Lily and Harry had spent a day carving. their house had lots of fake spider webs on it as well.

Harry was giddy in excitement and couldn't wait for the Weasley's to come. As if on cue, the old Ford Anglia pulled up in front of the cottage and Harry dashed outside to greet his friends.

"Hi, guys," Harry said, happily.

"Hi, mate," Ron grinned, he was dressed as Luke Skywalker from Star Wars, with a toy lightsabre as well. A floppy blonde wig sat upon his head but Harry could still see a few strands of ginger.

"Hi, Harry," Ginny smiled behind her helmet. she was dressed as a medieval Knight with a plastic sword "Nice Costume,"

"Thanks, your's look great as well," Harry replied. He spied Mr. Weasley coming up to them and noticed he was dressed as Robin Hood, with a fake bow and arrow. Harry wasn't surprised by Mr. Weasley's costume what so ever.

"Hello, Harry," Mr. Weasley said, "Or should I say, Batman!"

"Hi, Mr. Weasley," Harry replied before the twins came up to them. they were dressed as 1930's zombies. "Hi, Fred, George,"

"Who's Fred?" George asked.

"And George?" Fred said, confused,

"I'm zombie Laurel," George continued.

"And I'm zombie Hardy," Fred said.

"And together we are zombie Laurel and Hardy!" they finished in unison. Harry laughed but wasn't sure who they were supposed to be.

"I still don't know who you are?" Ron asked.

"Stan Laurel," Fred started

"And Oliver Hardy," George said

"Were the kings," Fred continued

"Of comedy," George said.

"Of their day," they said together.

"So their famous comedians that only you two would know?" Ginny said.

"Yeah," Fred said dryly.

"Yeah," George said, equally dryly a second later.

James came out moments later, decked in a spandex Robin costume. Harry snorted at how stupid his father looked.

"Hello, Weasley's. Nice costumes," James said, he then smiled at the Twins "Laurel and Hardy, I presume?"

"Yeah," The Twins nodded, fisting bumping each other.

"Well," Mr. Weasley said, rubbing his hands together "Let's go trick or treating,"

They stopped at Hagrid's first, he had two massive pumpkins out front and a barrel of sweets that he gave generously to them. The Diggory's, who Harry had founded out from Cedric ran Honeydukes, the general store, were next. they greeted them kindly and gave them some chocolates.

The Twins departed, off to some party someone from school was throwing. Harry enjoyed exploring Hogsmeade whilst trick or treating. the town seemed to really get into the Halloween spirit, pretty much every building had decorations on it. there were spider webs, pumpkins, zombie hands and other body parts and Harry's favourite, a large mummy statue outside of the local library, St. Rowena's.

Harry, Ron and Ginny's bucket was practically filled to the brim the time they stopped outside Hogwarts School.

"It's great this time of year, isn't it?" James asked his son whilst Ron and Ginny whispered with their father.

"Yeah," Harry agreed, looking at the various decorations in awe "Imagine what it will look like at Christmas"

James gasped, if their was one thing the Potter's loved, it was Christmas "Your right!,"

Ron and Ginny came over then, looking excitedly. "Mr. Potter, can we take Harry to show him something?," Ginny asked sweetly.

"Of course, my dear," James smiled. "If that's okay with your dad?"

"It is," Mr. Weasley confirmed.

"Come on, Harry," Ron said as Ginny pulled on Harry's arm as they walked quickly down the street.

"Where are we going?," Harry asked as they came to a stile in a hedge, over looking a field.

"We're going to show you the shrieking shack," Ginny grinned. Harry grinned excitedly, he couldn't believe he was about to see a piece of Hogsmeade history and folklore.

Harry followed the others over the stile, but not before he heard a sniffle. he looked over to see Cho Chang, in a very... revealing cat costume, quietly crying on a bench. Harry felt sad but didn't know the girl well enough, or even like her that much, to go over and see if she was okay.

He ran after Ron and Ginny in the fields until they got to the edge of the forbidden forest. it looked dark and ire, like a place a serial killer brought their victims. Ginny shivered.

Harry couldn't blame her.

"Come on," Ron said, fear in his voice. he walked forward before tripping over a black shape and falling on the ground. "What the feck?!"

"What is it?" Ginny asked, faintly.

"I don't know," Harry licked his lips before he went close and tentatively reached out his hand and shook the form. to his shock it was a person.

"It's somebody," Ron said, breathing heavily. Harry felt dread consuming him as he pushed the body over to reveal a boy in a black cloak and a bullet wound between his eyes.

Ginny screamed.

They had found the _Dead _body of Cedric Diggory.

* * *

_Hope you enjoyed. did anyone see that twist, let me know. the real mystery begins now. _


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